Jaguar Wild Cat

This page contains a customised Google map of the Jaguar range that is based as accurately as possible on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ map. It is designed to be refined by anyone with the will and the ability to do so! If you’d like to try please go to the original, which opens in a new window: Jaguar Range 2009. The range on this map is complicated and broken down into a series of ranges that knit together. The reason for this is to make it possible to build it and for ease of reference. The dark green areas surrounded by a blue line are where the range is fragmented. There is also another map further down the page, which is slightly different. This is not unusual as it changes and our knowledge of the range is not complete.

This article is over several pages for technical reasons with links to the next page at the base of each section.

The green area in the map below represents a fragmented jaguar population – red=distribution. Green=fragmented.

View Jaguar Range 2009 in a larger map

See base of page for photo licensing. Photo above by Prosper973

Jaguar wild cat – Description

The scientific name is Panthera onca (Linnaeus 1758 – Linnaeus was a well known Swedish zoologist who saw no..”difference between man and simian that [follows] from the principles of Natural History” – I agree). This is the largest felid (the carnivorous mammals of the family Felidae, which includes domestic cats and wildcats) in the Americas (the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions). Morphologically (the form and structure of an organism) the jaguar is similar to the leopard, which can confuse. Indeed the two are closely related members of the genus Panthera. The difference is that the jaguar is heavier and more powerful than the leopard. While the leopard is lithe and graceful, the jaguar is stocky and muscular with shorter legs. There is also a difference in the coat pattern. The spots of a jaguar are generally larger (and, therefore, there are less of them) than for the leopard. The jaguar’s head is large and it has a more powerful bite than the other big cats.

Jaguars vary widely in size depending on the region where they are found. This is believed to be due to the availability of prey. The jaguar can be quite small (for a “big cat”). For example, 56 kg (see below) is 123 lbs or about 8.8 stones, the weight of a light women. To compare the jaguar with other wildcats please click on this link.